Underwing moths or Underwings - Catocala nymphaea (Esper, 1787). - Cyprus

 See also - List of Moths of Cyprus you will find in this blog (Lepidoptera)

Catocala nymphaea is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1787. It is found in southern France, Austria, Albania, Portugal, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Corsica, Sicily, Crete, North Africa, Anatolia, Afghanistan and Kashmir.

The wingspan is 54–62 millimetres (2.1–2.4 in). Adults are on wing from July to August depending on the location.

The larvae feed on Quercus ilex

Catocala is a generally Holarctic genus of moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1802. The moths are commonly known as underwing moths or simply underwings. These terms are sometimes used for a few related moths, but usually – especially when used in plural, not as part of a species name – they are used to refer to Catocala only.

Of the more than 250 known species, slightly less than half are found in North America – mostly in the United States – while the rest occur in Eurasia. About one-fifth (almost 30) of these species are native to Europe. A few species occur in the northern Neotropics and Indomalaya

There are over 250 species in this genus. The species of Catocala are here divided into a Eurasian group, and another one which is found in North America. This does not imply actual relationships; it is mainly done to more conveniently deal with the large number of species. Still, it is not unlikely at all that the groups consist at least to some extent of closely related species..

There are several cryptic species complexes in Catocala, e.g. the group around the Delilah underwing (C. delilah); these and other hitherto unknown species are still being discovered and described in some numbers. Thus, resolving the phylogeny and taxonomy of the underwing moths is an ongoing effort, which has made (as of 2011) little progress. In the scientific literature, smaller subdivisions into putatively related species are sometimes applied, but there is no consistent and widely accepted taxonomic treatment for the genus as a whole. .From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Milikouri 17/6/2021 by George Konstantinou.